Parenting Aspergers Teens: Double Trouble?

Most experts do a great job of presenting the problems children with Aspergers (High Functioning Autism) face during their adolescent years, yet they offer few solutions. The years from twelve to seventeen may be the saddest and most difficult time for young people with Aspergers. This is not true of every adolescent with Aspergers. Some do extremely well. Their indifference to what others think makes them indifferent to the intense peer pressure of adolescence. They can flourish within their specialty, and become accomplished musicians, historians, mathematicians, etc.

Click here for the full article...

Comments

Unknown said…
OK...while all this information is helpful what do parents do when they've already gone through all those avenues? Residential homes are expensive...getting my 18 year old son to do anything is extremely challenging...he is definitely with the wrong crowd but am grateful he is not on drugs or alcohol as far ad I've seen and am able to tell....but it frightens me how he speaks with such obscene language and wishes me dead always...I don't want to throw a disabled teen in the street but I have an eight year old who also needs me...there's no help anywhere for me...
February 7, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Anonymous said…
O.K. You don't want to kick him out - but you don't want to send him to residential. What DO you want?

Try "Launching Adult Children with Aspergers" ...an ebook by Mark Hutten. It helped in my situation, which wasn't much different than yours. I stopped complaining about my circumstances and did something about it.
February 7, 2011 at 11:53 AM
Anonymous said…
My daughter doesn't think she has aspergers even when told by four docters,and a team of therapist. She read books on asperger and says this is not me. She has outbursts and tamper tamtrums as a teen and getting her out of it takes alot she screams why can I be like her sister who doesnt have aspie. what do we do when she gets out of control now? she is bigger and when she is in a level of no reasoning.
April 25, 2011 at 11:58 AM
Unknown said…
I have a 16 year old boy diagnosed with asbergers when he was 5 . My issue is that he is so angry . Any thing you ask of him becomes a complete battle . He is only happy when no one bothers him and he can do what ever he wants . Lately he has been lying , telling tall tales in school and completely obsessed with Mario cart . We had to take the wii system out of the house it was so bad . Then today I found out he has had a wii system he borrowed from a friend for over a month . He cares nothing for brushing his teeth or wearing clean clothes or even wanted to get out of bed for school . I'm completely physically and mental exhausted from this child I have no idea what to do anymore he has a therapist and has been on different medications with no help latley . I have 2 other children at home and it is so not fair for them . If anyone has some suggestions I would really appreciate it .
May 1, 2011 at 5:32 PM
Anonymous said…
So I have a son who so wants to fit in with his peers but struggles with conversation that they are interested in. He sits on the sidelines mostly which makes me feel very sad. He has to be prompted for most aspects of his life, from taking a shower to changing his clothes etc. All he seems to want to do is play on his x-box or his laptop or mobile phone which he is obsessed with all these items. He loves films so he watches alot of tv, I try and encourage him to play outside so he just kicks a ball about in front of our house,he wont go to the local park with it. My boy is 15 half and I am very worried about his accademic levels. He is not accademic or hands on, he writes like a 6 year old, how am I suppose to get him ready for the big wide world when he doesnt take anything seriously, he just says as long as he's trying his best he cant do no more. He wants to go to college but he most likely will be ungraded and not be able to go. Then Im faced with stopping him from becoming inward as he doesnt go out with any friends as I said he struggles with social interaction. Would I be wasting my time getting him some extra tuition to get him ready for the exams next year before he leaves school? The school seem to think it would be a waste of time but I am desperate to help my son any way possible to help him develope and find his niche in life. Any suggestions anyone please?
June 23, 2011 at 2:54 AM
Anonymous said…
As a teen with Aspergers, I can relate to this article. That's me alright; the adolescent that refuses to be your typical adolescent; no makeup, no hair styling, and no interest in fashion. Just routine and the few passions I'm trying to pursue and succeed in.

As for the "Sexual Issues": I think mainly the reason why a lot of us are so naive about sex, dating, and relationships is because...well, no one even bothers to try to talk about it with us. They just assume we can quickly learn it like your typical teenager. A lot of us don't, though, so we need our parent(s')/guardian(s') help.

I'm one of the more fortunate ones that learned about sex, STD's, and pregnancy by myself before I even tried it. I'm also lucky I learned about it vaguely in grades 5-8. Emphasis on the vaguely, mind you. I still wish that my mother could have sat me down and talked to me about relationships, sex and the rest, the second I had hit puberty. It would have helped me a lot :(
August 15, 2011 at 11:07 PM
Anonymous said…
We are finding support for our 14 year old daughter limited. We respect how hard it is for her at school with all the pressures school brings by itself without adding Aspergers. She is so disrespectful, mean aggressive with us...we are so tired of the foul mouth and physical tantrums when we ask her to shower, go to school, etc. We admitted her to an impatient facility for 5 days and she was a model teen there but the same night she came home she exploded when we tried to incorporate the rules we all agreed to before her discharge. Things are now worse...our hearts are breaking as we love her so much but feel so lost and hopeless. The help for teens with Aspergers is limited where we live...but we are open to anything to help our family. Ideas?
February 12, 2012 at 9:38 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Telltale Signs of ASD Level 1 [High-Functioning Autism]: A Comprehensive Checklist

Image
Below you will find the majority of symptoms associated with High-Functioning Autism (HFA), also referred to as Asperger’s. The HFA child will not usually have all of these traits. We will look at the following categories: sensory sensitivities, cognitive issues, motor clumsiness, narrow range of interests, insistence on set routines, impairments in language, and difficulty with reciprocal social interactions. Sensory Sensitivity Checklist— 1. Difficulty in visual areas: Avoids eye contact Displays discomfort/anxiety when looking at certain pictures (e.g., the child feels as if the visual experience is closing in on him) Engages in intense staring Stands too close to objects or people 2. Difficulty in auditory areas: Covers ears when certain sounds are made Displays an inability to focus when surrounded by multiple sounds (e.g., shopping mall, airport, party) Displays extreme fear when unexpected noises occur Fearful of the sounds particular objects make ...
Read more

Raising Aspergers Children: Symptoms and Parenting Strategies

Image
Aspergers (high functioning autism) is a developmental disorder falling within the autistic spectrum affecting two-way social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and a reluctance to accept change, inflexibility of thought and to have all absorbing narrow areas of interest. Individuals are usually extremely good on rote memory skills (facts, figures, dates, times etc.) many excel in math and science. There is a range of severity of symptoms within the syndrome, the very mildly affected youngster often goes undiagnosed and may just appear odd or eccentric. While Aspergers is much more common than Autism it is still a rare condition and few people, including professionals, will know about it much less have experience of it. It seems to affect more boys than girls. In general terms they find making friends difficult, not understanding the subtle clues needed to do so. They often use language in a slightly odd way and take literal meanings from what is read or heard. They ...
Read more

Married To An Aspie: 25 Tips For Spouses

Image
If you are about to embark on a marriage to someone who has Aspergers (high functioning autism), there are a few things that you may need to know (some good, and some not-so-good, perhaps): 1. Although Aspies (i.e., people with Aspergers) do feel affection towards others, relationships are not a priority for them in the same way that it is for neurotypicals or NTs (i.e., individuals without Aspergers). 2. A relationship with an Aspergers partner may take on more of the characteristics of a business partnership or arrangement. 3. Although he genuinely loves his spouse, the Aspie does not know how to show this in a practical way sometimes. 4. An Aspie is often attracted to someone who shares his interests or passions, and this can form a good basis for their relationship. 5. An Aspie needs time alone. Often the best thing the NT partner can do is give her Aspie the freedom of a few hours alone while she visits friends or goes shopping. 6. An Aspie often has a ...
Read more